Dragin Fly Costa Rica • Sport Fishing in Comfort for Sailfish, Marlin, and More/Fishing Reports

Sunday, July 31, 2022

“Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” Report July 25, to 29, 2022

“Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” Report July 25, to 29, 2022

July 25, 2022: Chad Moss (IGFA board member)and I left my condo at 3:30 pm and drove down to the Los Suenos Marina where we boarded the vessel “Dragin Fly”. Captain James Smith along with mates Berto and Aramis had the boat ready and at 4:00 pm we headed offshore. It got dark at about 6:10 pm and shortly later Aramis served a delicious Lasagna with a green salad for dinner, before 8:00 pm we were sleeping and dreaming about Blue Marlin!

Tuesday July 26, 2022: At 5:00 am we woke up to choppy seas with a head on swell. By 5:20 Berto had the teasers deployed and I had my TFO BW-HD fly rods, Mako 9700 fly reels, Cortland fly lines, rigged with my pink and white big tube marlin popper flies rigged and ready to cast. Finally around 6:30 we got the coffee brewed and had breakfast then arrived at the sea mount at 7:15 am. After catching bait for teasers and marking lots of fish with the sonar we finally raised a blue marlin at 9:13 am but it didn’t tease. At 9:41 we teased in a blue marlin that would not eat Chad’s fly, after 3 attempts it ate the Bonito teaser and swam away. Next at 9:59 am Chad cast to a 150 pound Blue Marlin which piled on his pink and white fly. This hot marlin was the first ever hooked on fly by this angler. After dozens of jumps and some great fish fighting by Chad, he wound the leader into the tiptop and then released his first fly caught Blue Marlin ever. Next at 11:14 we raised a double of blue marlin, Chad hooked one that broke the tippet and then I handed him the other rod which he cast and hooked the second marlin. After a 6 minute battle another fish grabbed the line about 30 foot back from the back at and got tangled. After another couple minutes that third fish broke the 65 pound backing and all three fish were gone. I’ve never had that happen before. Our next fish was at 12:01 we raised a marlin that didn’t tease and then at 12:21 we raised a blue that didn’t tease. At 12:51 we raised a fi that would not bite and then at 1:04 pm we raised a hot 180 pound blue. Chad made a perfect cast and that marlin gobbled the fly and immediately ripped off 100 yards of backing from the Mako #9700 fly reel with the drag set at 1 pound of pressure. That fish jumped over a hundred times before Chad wound in the leader and released his second Blue Marlin of the day. Next at 1:52 Chad hooked a hot blue marlin that fought valiantly and jumped over 40 times before Chad caught and released his third Blue Marlin of the day, and his third ever on fly using IGFA 20 pound class tippet. Next we raised another Blue Marlin at 4:01 in pouring down rain we raised a blue that didn’t tease, then at 5:01 pm Chad hooked a nice blue which put on a grey fight, at 5:29 he caught and released our 4th blue marlin of the day. At 6:00 pm we deployed our sea anchor and shut down for the night. After a hot shower we had a delicious dinner prepared by Aramis and talked about Chads first day of fly fishing for blue marlin ever. At 7:30 we were sound asleep. Todays score was: 14 raised, 6 bites, and 4 caught.

14/6/4 Blue Marlin

Wednesday, July 27, 2022: woke up at 5:15 this morning, watched the transition from dark to dawn, drank some awesome Costa Rican coffee and got ready for another day at the office. We found a floating ball of line mixed with other sea trash with lots of bait way offshore so we caught lots of bait then began to troll teasers in the area in calm seas with blue skies and bright sunshine. At 6:51 Chad made a great cast to a red hot blue marlin, after a fast jumping start the fish wend deep and battled hard for the the next twenty four minutes before coming to the surface and jumping before getting tail wrapped and going deep again finally at 7:31 the wrap came off, the fish surged and the 20 pound IGFA class tippet broke and the marlin swam away.

Our next marlin piped up at 8:44 Chad hooked a blue and the battle was on, this 200+ pound fish kept jumping away and then going deep, after a long drawn out battle at 9:28 Chad wound his 5th blue marlin in and got the release.

Our next Blue marlin was raised at 9:56 am, it ate Chad’s fly and put on a great show, this fish cooperated and at 10:93 we released our second Blue Marlin of the day. Our next fish was raised at 10:36 am but wouldn’t tease, than at 10:49 we raised a fish that bit but got the hook stuck on its bill then shook it off and swam away, At 11:16 we raised a blue that wouldn’t tease in and then at 11:49 Chad got a bite from a hot fish that swam under the boat and broke off. Our next marlin was a striped at 12:46 pm after a short battle Chad released his first striped marlin ever on fly. At 1:39 we raised a blue marlin that ate the fly aggressively and Chad fought that 200 pound jumper valiantly and 19 minutes later he caught and released his third blue marlin of the day.

At 2:18 Chad hooked a blue one which ran out 150 feet and spit the hook then at 2:24 another blue one came in and ate the teaser then swam away. At 2:29 we raised a hot marlin but the fly got tangled with the teaser then at 2:33 we hooked another Blue and it went crazy. Chad did a great job fighting that marlin and at 3:02 we released another Blue marlin. At 4:11 pm I cast to a hot marlin, that ate my fly deep and went crazy. After 5 minutes of constant jumping and running the 20 pound Mason class tippet broke with less than 5 pounds of pressure, when I wound it in the leader was worn down to thread size from being in the mouth of that marlin, shortly later the fly floated to the surface and we got it back. Today the weather was perfect with blue skies, sunshine, calm to a light chop, with 81 degree water and 83 degree air temperature, it doesn’t get Mitch better than this! At 5:21 we hooked a wild Blue Marlin that fought a great fight and at 5:44 Chad caught and released his 9th blue marlin of the trip and of his lifetime, on fly using IGFA rules of fly fishing and 20 pound class tippet. At 6:00 we quit fishing and deployed the sea anchor. After a hot shower and a great meal we went to bed about 7:30 pm.

Todays score was:

14 Blue and 2 Striped Marlin teased, 10 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin bites,

5 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin caught

14/10/5 Blue Marlin

2/1/1 Striped Marlin

Two day total

28/16/9 Blue Marlin

2/1/1 Striped Marlin

Thursday, July 28, 2022: Today we woke up to Coffee and calm seas, with partly cloudy skies. At 6:04 am Chad hooked a hot Blue that pulled off lots of backing and then broke the 20 pound class tippet. At 6:49 we raised a blue one that didn’t tease then at 7:28 we raised another blue that didn’t bite. At 7:58 we raised a blue that ate chads fly, ran out and broke the 20 pound tippet and then at 8:09 Chad hooked and broke off another Blue marlin. At 8:18 we raised a double header blue marlin, Chad hooked one and I hooked the second marlin my fish was 300 pounds while chads was about 180. They went in opposite directions and eventually one broke and one pulled the hook. Next at 8:37 we raised a blue marlin that didn’t tease in then at 8:29 Chad hooked a big Blue Marlin close to 300 pounds. That big marlin put on a show with lots of jumps and at one period it was jumping 500 yards out, I looked and we had 50 yards of backing left on the reel. After 28 minutes Chad caught that marlin, I wired it and made the release on a potential world record class of pacific Blue Marlin. At 9:29 Chad hooked a blue marlin and after a long run broke the tippet. Our next blue marlin was at 10:30 it ate the fly, swam in a big semicircle jumped in front of the boat and broke the tippet. At 10:37 we raised a marlin that did not tease and then at 10:59 we raised a blue that would not bite. At 11:00 am the seas are still calm however the skies to the east, toward Panama and Columbia have very dark clouds which are moving toward our location. Our next marlin was at 11:06, Chad made a great cast and that marlin gobbled it, after a short 13 minute battle Chad caught and released his second blue marlin of the day. Next at 11:16 we raised a doubleheader of blue marlin, once Chad hooked the big one I made a cast and hooked the smaller one. As the fish charged away my fish jumped and spit the hook, several minutes later Chad’s fish broke off. At 11:32 we raised a blue marlin that didn’t bite then at 11:59 Chad hooked a hot blue marlin that put on a great show and stayed on the surface, at 12:13 pm Chad released his Third Blue Marlin of the day and his 12th of his lifetime and this trip. At 12:56 we raised a hot 100 pound blue marlin that ate Chad’s pink and white Jake Jordan large tube marlin popper fly and got hooked with the Gamakatsu 8/0 octopus hook. After a short battle on the surface Chad Moss caught and released another blue marlin on fly.

At 1:14 pm we raised another blue one that would not tease, then at 1:21 another marlin that refused to bite. At 1:26 we raised a blue one that didn’t eat then at 2:44 Chad Hook’d a hot marlin, it stayed on top and at 2:59 pm it broke off. At 3:21 we raised a blue which ate Chad’s fly, a long run at the beginning and then at 3:26 it broke off. At 3:58 pm we raised a pacific sailfish that immediately ate Chads fly, that 80 pound sailfish put on a jumping clinic and then at 4:04 pm Chad Moss closed the deal and caught a sailfish on fly! Around here we call that a “Trip Billfish Grand Slam”, 3 species of billfish (Blue Marlin, Striped Marlin, and Sailfish,) caught on fly during one fishing trip. We fished until dark and then headed in toward the Los Suenos Marina and Resort. Dinner tonight was jumbo Shrimp with mushrooms in a cream sauce over pasta. What a world class fly fishing trip.

Today’s Score was:

24 Blue Marlun and 1 Sailfish raised.

15 Blue Marlin and 1 Sailfish bites.

4 Blue Marlin and 1 Sailfish caught.

24/15/4 Blue Marlin

1/1/1 Sailfish

Chad Moss’s total Trip Score was:

52 Blue Marlin, 2 Striped Marlin, 1 Sailfish raised,

31 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish bites.

13 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish, all caught on fly using IGFA rules for fly fishing and 20 pound class tippet.

Thanks to The Dragin Fly crew for another awesome trip, More Reports to follow, I love my Job!❤️❤️❤️ Captain Jake Jordan

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 3:47 PM

Thursday, July 21, 2022

....and these are the pics

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 1:11 PM

no, these are the details......

CR BM Fly School Report July 11-15, 2022

July 11, 2022: Nancy and Tim Llacuna joined me as we left my Los Suenos condo, went to the marina, and boarded the vessel “Dragin Fly” at 4:00 pm.

Captain James Smith with Mates: Aramis, Danny, and Roberto were all ready for us so we left Los Suenos marina and headed offshore for a “Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School”! Seas are choppy and it has been raining since we left the dock. We ate dinner after dark around 6:15 then went to sleep at 7:30pm as the boat headed off shore.

July 12, 2022: we woke up at 5:00am to the smell of fresh brewed Costa Rican coffee and frying bacon. At 5:15 the crew deployed the teasers while I got the TFO BW-HD fly rods, with Mako 9700-B fly reels, Cortland billfish fly lines, and my pink and white large tube popper flies, rigged with IGFA 20 pound class tippet and a 8/0 Gamakatsu octopus hooks ready to cast. We still had until 7:30 am before we arrived at a sea mount where we hope to find some Marlin.

At 7:32 am Tim hooked a hot Blue Marlin, it pulled off 150 yards of backing then proceeded into a series of jumps. At 7:59 Tim caught and released our first marlin of the trip.

At 8:04 am we raised a Blue that didn’t tease in and then at 8:29 we raised a doubleheader one ate the teaser and left while the other one wouldn’t eat Nancy’s fly. At 9:01 we raised a Blue which ate Nancy’s well placed fly, that fish swam fifty feet away then stopped to shake its head, the fly came out and that fish would not eat again. At 9:32 we raised a double Blue Marlin, Tim hooked the smaller 150 pound fish, Nancy cast at the other one but it missed the fly. After a great fight, at 10:01 Tim caught his second marlin of the day.

At 10:13 Nancy hooked a red hot Blue Marlin that put on a great series of jumps after which Nancy wound the leader into the tiptop for the technical release. She then fought that fish for another 12 minutes until at 10:46 Danny leadered the fish for a picture and removed the fly after which Nancy’s first marlin of the trip swam away. At 11:04 Tim hooked a 200+ pound red hot Blue Marlin that ripped off over 200 yards of backing before beginning to jump around in a giant semi circle an going deep. After a 12 minute standoff in and out, that marlin swam to the surface and jumped some more. With 7 pounds of drag at 11:29 Tim caught that marlin and after removing the fly we released our fourth blue marlin of the morning. At 11:56 Tim hooked a big Blue Marlin a long run and a bunch of jumps turned into an epic battle however in the end at 12:39 Tim caught our fifth marlin of the day.

At 1:23 Nancy hooked a 220 pound class Blue Marlin, it jumped more than 50 times and twice she got within 15 feet of the leader and that big marlin took off. On the last jump that fish got tail wrapped and the fight was at a standstill for several minutes,Nancy turned the drag up to 6 pounds, the fish shook and the tail wrap came off. At 1:48 she caught and released that marlin. At 1:55 we raised a Blue that Tim hooked in the rain, it was another big fish. Tim fought that fish in pouring down rain and after an epic battle he caught and released our 7th marlin of the day at 2:19 pm! At 3:30 we raised a Blue that ate Nancy’s well placed fly, that fish ran off the length of the fly then spit the hook. At 3:47 we raised a marlin that would not eat then at 3:55 Tim hooked a big Blue Marlin that pulled 400 yards of backing in 10 seconds and then jumped, as he was in mid air the 20 pound IGFA class tippet broke. At 4:12 we raised another blue that would not bite and then at 4:15 a 250+ pound piled on Nancy’s fly and went crazy with incredible jumps, then charged the boat and stayed on top jumping for 9 minutes and at 4:31 Nancy caught and released our eighth Blue Marlin of the day. At 4:54 we raised a marlin that didn’t tease in. So far today at 5:00 pm we raised 20, got bites from 13, we caught and released 8 Blue Marlin on Fly! Today we were served scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, bacon and sausage for breakfast. Watermelon as a snack, then fresh caught (2 hours ago) yellowfin tuna seared with orange jalapeño jelly for lunch. Later Roberto made chicken quesadillas and for dinner we had jumbo shrimp over pasta. The last hour of daylight it rained really hard and at 5:30 the crew deployed the sea anchor and we shut down the engines for the first time in 26 hours.

Todays score was:

20 blue marlin raised, 13 bites, we caught 8 Blue Marlin on fly using IGFA 20 pound class tippet. We were asleep by 8:00 pm.

20-13-8 day #1

July 13, 2022: We woke up at 5:00 am, the Costa Rican coffee was brewing and the crew had pulled the sea anchor. Wind coming from south at 15-20 knots and strong current pushed us 15 miles from where we stopped last night. It got light at 5:30 as we trolled back toward the sea mount and ate breakfast. At 7:00 am we arrived at the sea mount, there are large swells with a 3 to 4 foot chop on top (rough seas) with intermittent rain showers.

At 7:31 we raised a Blue that was not interested in the fly, then 3 minutes later we raised one that didn’t tease in.

At 7:59 Nancy hooked a hot 150 pound blue marlin, it stayed on top jumping for 30 minutes then went deep. That fish stayed deep for 55 more minutes and then at 9:32 am Nancy wound it up to the surface and caught our first Marlin of the day.

At 9:36 am Tim hooked a bigger fish, it stayed on top jumping a lot and then at 9:49 he caught and released our second of the day which was our tenth Blue Matlin of the trip.

At 10:37 am Nancy cast her fly to a hot Blue that ate immediately, it ran about 50 feet and then tailed down sea toward the boat. After a short, very quick battle Nancy wound the leader in and got a quick release on our third marlin of the day at 10:42 am.

Just a short note; the seas are 5 to 7 foot, close together with large swells and steady 15 knot wind. This morning we are surrounded by intermittent rain showers and strong rain, oh yeah, and the Marlin are biting.

At 11:29 we raised a Blue Marlin that refused to eat and then at 12:15 Tim hooked half of a double blue marlin, he fought it for 19 minutes then the hook pulled and the fish was gone.

At 12:59 we raised a marlin that didn’t eat a fly and then at 1:38 Nancy hooked a great Blue Marlin, that broke the 20 pound IGFA class tippet on its first jump.

At 2:22 Tim hooked a blue then broke  it off then at 2:58 pm Nancy hooked a hot blue that stayed on top and jumped a lot, she caught our 4th blue of the day at 3:09 pm. Then at 3:14 Tim hooked another hot fish that never stopped until it jumped and broke off about 400 yards out. Now the weather improved slightly out here about 150 miles from Los to How are you Suenos however we are still surrounded by rain.

At 3:28 we raised a Blue Marlin that didn’t tease and then at 4:14 another marlin raised that didn’t bite. The next at 5:00 we raised another blue that refused to eat Tim’s well placed fly. At 6:00 we pulled in the teasers, deployed the sea anchor, took a hot shower, and then had an awesome dinner, before going to bed at 8:00 pm.

Todays score was:

16 BLUE marlin raised, 9 bites, and we caught 4 Blue Marlin on fly!

16/9/4

Our 2 day total is:

36/22/12

July 14, 2022: This morning we woke at 5:00 am, pulled the sea anchor, and started heading back toward the sea mount. As we drank fresh brewed coffee Roberto made breakfast and I got the fly tackle ready. We arrived back at the sea mount at 6:05 am and at 6:29 Tim hooked a hot Blue Marlin. That fish pulls off at least 300 yards of backing and then the IGFA 20 pound class tippet broke at a setting of between one and two pounds of pressure. At 6:54 we raised one that didn’t eat and then at 7:01 Nancy got a bite that didn’t stick. At 7:04 Tim pulled the hooks on a blue. At 7:21 Nancy hooked a hot blue marlin that put on quite a show, lots of jumps and at 7:30 she caught that marlin. At 7:37 we raised a blue, that Tim hooked that fish and it broke off. At 7:44 Nancy got a bite that looked good but the marlin spit the hook. Our next Blue Marlin was at 8:25 but didn’t bite, then at 8:39 Tim hooked a big hot blue marlin. That fish put on an excellent fight with lots of awesome jumps, then went deep for about 12 minutes before coming back to the surface and at 8:59 the fish went deep again. Finally after 9 more minutes it came up tail wrapped and Tim caught our second fish of the day at 9:11 am!

Our next marlin raised at 9:29 didn’t tease and at 9:32 another no bite. At 9:48 we raised a marlin but again no bite then at 9:52 another no tease.

Finally at 9:56 Nancy hooked a big 350+ pound Blue Marlin, this fish was hot and put on a great jumping display and after jumping very close to the boat the hook pulled and the marlin was gone.

At 10:25 it started raining harder and at 11:01 we raised a marlin that did not bite. At 11:36 we raised a marlin and that Marlin ate the long teaser jumped a couple times toward the boat and then spit out that teaser and swam away. 11:49 we raise another blue marlin Tim made a great cast and a marlin ate his fly quickly he’s been fighting the fish now for 12 minutes with an incredible display of jumping and running around the entire boat at 11:59 Tim caught and released our third marlin of the day. After lunch at 12:21 we raised a blue marlin that would not bite, next at 12:33 we raised a double Nancy hooked half then Tim hooked the other half at 12:35 Tim caught the first half of the double and then Nancy had the second marlin within 5 foot of catching it and that 200 plus pound marlin took off, jumped, got tail wrapped, and fought until 1:07 when the tail wrap came off the marlin jumped and broke the class tippet. Our next marlin was another double raised at 1:24 pm, Nancy hooked the first half and while Tim was trying for the other one Nancy’s marlin broke the 20 pound IGFA class  tippet.

At 1:59 Tm hooked a Striped Marlin which fought hard and at 2:28 we released our first striped marlin of the trip. This was Tim’s first striped ever!

Our next fish raised was at 3:00 pm it refused to eat the fly. At 3:00 we stopped and caught some yellowfin tuna for sashimi and then at 3:29 we raised another blue marlin that refused to bite. At 3:43 a blue teased in and tried to eat the fly but missed it then at 4:15 Nancy hooked a big hot marlin that she fought valiantly for 28 minutes until she had that fish 10 foot from the leader. As she was ready to wind that marlin in it surged and my TFO BW-HD fly rod broke just below the middle Ferrule and shortly later the IGFA class tippet broke and the marlin was gone. At

Todays final score was:

1/1/1 Striped Marlin

26/14/4 Blue Marlin

Tim and Nancy Llacuna’s total score for the trip was:

1 Striped and 62 Blue Marlin raised,

1 Striped and 36 Blue Marlin bites,

1 Striped and 16 Blue Marlin caught!

All fish were caught using IGFA fly fishing rules and 29 pound class tippet.

As usual the vessel “Dragin Fly” along with her crew Captain James Smith and his mates Arimus Jimenez, Roberto Cruz, and Danny Smith, did a world class job. Thanks to George and Anna Beckwith for making this all possible. Tim and Nancy are world class fly anglers, during two, of my three day, “Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” trips they have caught 25 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish, all on fly!

In conclusion, I Love My Job! ❤️❤️❤️

62/36/16 Blue Marlin

1/1/1 Striped Marlin

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 1:09 PM

details from Capt. Jake report July 11-15

“Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” Report, July 11 to 15, 2022!

Tim an Nancy Llacuna joined me for their second season of My “Costa Rica Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School” aboard the awesome fishing vessel”Dragin Fly”. Captain James Smith along with Mates Arimus Jimenez, Roberto Cruz, and Danny Smith, as usual produced the best trip possible.

July 12, 2022: we had a world class day on a sea mount between 100 and 180 miles from the marina at Los Suenos CR. We raised 22 Blue Marlin, got 13 bites, and caught 8 Blue Marlin on Fly.

July 13, 202: we raised 16, got 9 bites and caught 4 Blue Marlin on Fly!

July 14, 2022: we raised 26 Blue and a Striped Marlin, got 14 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin bites, and caught 4 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin on Fly!

For the trip we raised 62 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin, got 36 Blue and 1 Striped Marlin bites, Tim and Nancy Llacuna caught and released 16 Blue and a Striped Marlin on Fly!

All fish were caught on fly tackle using IGFA rules of fly fishing and 20 pound class tippet.

62/36/16 Blue Marlin

1/1/1 Striped Marlin

Thanks To George and Anna Beckwith and the awesome crew aboard “Dragin Fly”, More reports and pictures to follow. This is why I Love My Job. ❤️❤️❤️

Captain Jake Jordan

@tforods @makoreels @cortlandline @gamakatsuhooks #jonesbrothersmarine #cortlandline #makoreels #tforods #jakejordansfishingadventures l#draginflycostarico #flyfishing #flyfishingforbillfish #igfa #marlinonfly

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 1:08 PM

July 17 day trip report

4 for 4 on sailfish and 1 for 1 on blue Marlin today

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 12:15 PM

Sunday, July 17, 2022

From Capt. James

What an awesome trip raised 60 blue marlin and 1 stripes marlin had 36 blue Marlin bites catch 16 and 1 stripes marlin

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 9:22 AM

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Jake's report. Grand Slam on the fly, Super Slam for the trip July 5, 6, 7

July 4-8, 2022

CR Blue Marlin Fly Fishing School Log Book Report

July 4 2022 Bill and Nikki Wilson are back in Costa Rica for their second shot at catching Blue Marlin on fly in less than a month. They joined me as we left my condo at 4:00 pm and headed down to the marina to board “Dragin Fly”. Captain James Smith along with Mates Berto and Arimus were waiting with the engines running, we left the dock at 4:45 pm.

It got dark at 6:15, we had a great fish salad with chicken lasagna then went to bed.

July 5, 2022: Woke at 5:00 am, had coffee and breakfast, in choppy seas with light rain. We arrived at a sea mount at 8:30 am and caught a bunch of Bonita and small yellowfin tuna for sashimi and teaser baits. Our first marlin raised was at 9:05 am, Nikki made a good cast and that Marlin ate her pink and white, large tube, popper fly. That marlin ran 60 feet, stopped, then shook the hook out of its mouth and swam away. At 9:24 another marlin teased up, ate a Bonita teaser, the line broke and the marlin swam away, never saw the fly. At 11:03 we raised a marlin, it ate the long teaser and took off, Nikki never got a bite. At 11:14 Nikki cast to a hot Blue Marlin which ate her fly and the battle was on. That 175 pound class marlin jumped more than 30times over a 17 minute battle, then Nikki finally wound the leader into the tiptop of my TFO-HD fly rod and caught that marlin, her first of this trip. At 11:32 am Berto retreated the fly and released that awesome marlin. Raised a blue at 12:29 no bite then at 1:12 pm a hot Blue Marlin teased in and looked at the fly and refused to eat it. That marlin stayed around the boat for almost three minutes and would grab the fresh Bonita teaser then chase it up to the fly but would not eat, finally at 1:16 that lit up big marlin swam away.

At 2:31 we raised a hot Blue, Bill made a good cast and that marlin piled on the fly and began ripping the Cortland Billfish fly line and backing off of the Mako 9700-B fly reel. 26 minutes later Bill Wilson caught and released his first Blue Marlin of the trip on 20 pound IGFA class tippet.

Next at 3:10 Nikki cast to, hooked, caught and released a short billed spearfish, on fly, the first spearfish ever on the Dragin Fly. At 3:24 Bill cast to a big Sailfish which ate the fly and jumped a couple of times then stopped and shook its bill like a windshield wiper. Bill raised his rod tip up into the air, causing slack and that sailfish spit the hook and swam away. No more fish showed up in the rain today and at 5:40pm we quit fishing for the day and put out the sea anchor. After getting cleaned up we were served a wonderful dinner consisting of “World Record Snook” (caught by my awesome friend George Beckwith), along with fresh sauté vegetables and mashed potatoes. By 8:00 we were all asleep.

Todays score was: 9 Blue Marlin, 1 Spearfish, and 1 Sailfish raised,

3 Blue Marlin, 1 Spearfish, and 1 Sailfish bites, 2 Blue Marlin, and 1 Spearfish, caught and released on fly.

9/3/2 Blue Marlin

1/1/1 Short Billed Spearfish

1/1/0 Sailfish

July, 6, 2022: At 5:00 am we were traveling 20 miles back to the sea mount at 6:00 am we arrived and deployed our teasers. The seas are choppy with mostly cloudy skies and scattered rain showers around us. We are marking fish but none raised by 8:30 am. At 9:29 we raised a 150 pound class Blue Marlin, Nikki made a great cast and that marlin gobbled her fly. The marlin pulled hard for 15 minutes before starting several spurts of jumps, then charged the boat before she wound in the leader and released her second blue marlin of the trip at 9:49. Bill hooked a 120 pound Blue marlin at 9:54, it stayed on top and jumped a lot before he wound it in and got our 4th Blue Marlin of the trip. At noon we hadn’t seen a fish for several hours, the captain had heard about a location that was producing fish on a sea mount about 12 hours away. At 12:30 began fishing our way toward this sea mount, we should arrive in time to start tomorrow on that location. At 5:01 we raised a blue marlin, it crashed the teaser and followed hallway in then faded away. At 6:15 we quit fishing, took a hot shower and then Aramis served an awesome shrimp in white garlic cream sauce over pasta dinner. At 8:00 we were asleep with another 5 hours to go.

Today we raised 3 Blue Marlin, we got 2 bites, and both Bill and Nikki caught a Blue Marlin on fly.

3/2/2 on Blue Marlin.

Two day trip score is:

12/5/4 Blue Marlin

1/1/1 Spearfish

1/1/0 Sailfish

July 7, 2022: We woke up at 5:00 am to cloudy skies, light rain, with a 2 to 4 foot chop on the water and the spell of Costa RicN coffee brewing. By 5:30 the teasers were deployed and we were trolling back toward a sea mount. Breakfast was served at 6:15am and we raised no fish for 1.5 hours. We ran about 20 miles in 50 minutes to another sea mount and raised a double at 8:30. Nikki hooked one and it broke off so I handed her another rod and she hooked the other half of the double at 9:09 she caught her first Blue Marlin of the day. At 9:21 Bill hooked a hot blue which fought valiantly and then at 9:34 Bill caught and released his first Blue Marlin of the day and our sixth so far of the trip. At 9:48 We raised a Blue Marlin, it refused to eat Nikki’s well placed fly. At 9:56 we raised a 300+ pound Blue, it didn’t tease and then at 10:15 we raised a blue, bill cast but got tangled with a teaser and that fish was gone. At 10:21 Nikki hooked a great marlin, it jumped steady for over 2 minutes then settled in for a battle, after 9 minutes the fish jumped stretched the line and broke the 20 pound tippet. At 10: 35 Bill hooked a red hot 150 pound blue, that marlin put on a spectacular series of jumps. Bill was doing great then tried to palm the spool, as his finger hit the fast spinning handle on the Mako reel the fish surged and broke off the IGFA 20 pound class tippet. Next we raised a blue marlin at 10:58 but it wouldn’t eat the fly, then at 10:12 we raised a double of blue marlin, the second fish, a big one, ate Nikki’s fly, jumped once and then ripped off 400 yards of backing, turned left and broke the tippet. We raised 3 more fish in the next 34 minutes that didn’t tease and then at

2:32 Bill hooked and caught a big 100 pound Sailfish. At 2:50 Nikki hooked a small Blue Marlin, she had the line wrapped around the rod so she backed all the way off on the Mako drag, unwrapped the backing, re set the drag and then after a 12 minute battle Nikki caught her fourth Blue Marlin of the trip. At 3:09 Bill Wilson hooked a striped marlin on fly while using 20 pound IGFA class tippet and at 3:24 pm he wound that striped marlin in, Alberto grabbed the leader, removed the fly, and released that fish. We all celebrated Bills first billfish grand slam with a Blue Marlin, a Striped Marlin, and a Pacific Sailfish, on fly, on IGFA 20 pound class tippet, on July 7, 2022. At 3:47 Nikki Wilson cast my TFO BW-HD Fly rod with a Cortland Billfish fly line connected to one of my pink and white large tube Marlin popper flies to a hot 180 pound Blue Marlin. That marlin ate the fly and took off at high speed pulling one pound of drag off of my Mako #9700 fly reel for a hundred yards before jumping steady for a full minute. Nikki eventually applied 6 pounds of drag and kicked the butt of that marlin. At 4:06 Alberto grabbed the leader, removed the fly, and released another awesome Blue Marlin. The crew on “Dragin Fly”, Captain James along with Mates Berto and Arimus are red hot today, what a great fly fishing adventure. At 4:48 we raised a Blue Marlin that didn’t tease in and then we continued fishing until dark. At six o’clock we headed Dragin Fly toward Los Suenos

Todays score was:

19 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish raised.

8 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Sailfish bites.

4 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, 1 Sailfish caught and released Bill Wilson caught a Billfish Grand Slam.

All fish were caught using IGFA rules of fly fishing and 20 pound class tippet.

The trip total for 3 days of fly fishing was:

31 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, 2 Sailfish, 1 Spearfish raised.

13 Blue Marlin, 2 Sailfish, 1 Striped Marlin, and 1 Spearfish Bites.

8 Blue Marlin, 1 Striped Marlin, 1 Sailfish, and 1 Spearfish, caught and released on Fly using 20 pound IGFA class tippet.

Also Bill Wilson Caught a IGFA Billfish Fly Grand Slam today!

I still Live my job ❤
C️apt. Jake Jordan

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 1:41 AM

Awesome

I got out to the seamounts with Capt. Jake a week or so ago for a couple of days and caught 4 blue marlin on the fly and a sailfish on a fly. Awesome fishing after an awesome tuna trip, followed by an awesome day of inshore fishing with Capt. Roy Zapata and a potential new world record snook, 43.8 pounds on 6 pound line
Love Green Season Costa Rica
Below some marlin porn:

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 1:32 AM

Monday, July 4, 2022

day trip report, more on the seamounts to follow

8 for 15 sailfish releases and a dorado yesterday on a day trip.
We got in a quick seamount trip before the "bad weather" blew through northern Costa Rica with no ill effects for our part of the country. As is typical after a blow, the weather is gorgeous.
On that 2 day/3 night seamount trip Capt. Jake Jordan and I landed 6 blue marlin and 1 sailfish on fly tackle.
More on that report to follow,

posted by Capt. George Beckwith at 11:08 AM